The present invention relates generally to door locks, and more particularly to a sliding door lock which may be used to lock a sliding door and to hold the door open.
In the past, a variety of different locks have been used to lock a sliding door or window. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,996, issued to Sjogren on May 7, 1985, discloses a sliding door lock mounted to the end of a sliding door frame. A handle attached to a bolt is used to move the bolt upward until it engages one of several apertures in a door frame casement. The bolt may be locked in an upward position using a barrel lock, thus preventing the door frame from moving.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,313, issued to Governale on Oct. 9, 1984, describes two different locking devices used for sliding doors. One device uses knobs at the top and bottom of a door frame to move sliding bolts into openings at top and bottom portions of a surrounding frame sill structure. Slots in the door frame allow vertical movement of the knobs, which are locked in place by compression springs. The second device uses a lever operated swinging latch bolt, pivotally mounted in a bolt housing mounted on a door frame. An extension of the bolt removably engages a slot in an adjacent door.
A latch used for windows or doors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,284, issued to Ikemura on Jan. 3, 1978. A latch bolt is slidably mounted in a housing, which may be attached to a window or sliding door. A handle is used to move the bolt longitudinally along the length of the housing until the end of the bolt engages a recess in the surrounding door or window structure. The handle removably engages one of the channels in a plate member of the housing. A spring biases the handle into a channel, keeping the end of the bolt in the recess.
Another lock used for locking sliding windows or doors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,041, issued to Edison on Aug. 17, 1976. A screw is used to clamp members to one of the legs of a channel guide on which a window or door is slidably mounted. The members are in contact with the frame of the window or door, effectively preventing sliding movement of the window or door.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,266, issued to Weaver on Mar. 16, 1976, discloses a locking latch for sliding doors. The latch has a housing which is attached to the outside of a door frame. A plate is free to move vertically along the length of the housing. The plate has two upward extensions at its upper end. A thumb screw is threaded into a threaded aperture in the plate. A slot in the housing allows a person to grasp the screw and move the plate up and down. A sliding door may be locked in place by moving the extensions of the plate upward, using the screw, until the extensions engage apertures in a surrounding structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,585, issued to Chmura on Oct. 17, 1967, discloses a sliding window lock using an elongated member EE, having a number of notches along the length thereof. Member EE is mounted on a sliding window. A U-shaped locking member LE may be attached to elongated member EE at different locations along the length of the member EE by selectively using different notches. A lock screw is used to attach members EE and LE together. The locking member LE limits sliding movement of an adjacent window.